The Ancient Warrior
by runwild14
Summary: In Ancient Greece, there was a warrior known as Alexios. He was the protector of the people, although nobody ever saw his face. He was their saving grace, their guardian, and this is his story.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer - I don't own PJO and I never will**

***THIS HAS BEEN EDITED***

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**THIRD PERSON POV**

The moon shone brightly in the night sky, illuminating a grassy field at the edge of a forest. It was on this field that the village of Dion was situated. There were several stone huts throughout the field with a single cobble street cutting through the center of the village. The field was eerily silent, as if all of the life had been wiped out by the chilly breeze moving steadily through the forest. The wind whistled through the trees, causing the leaves to brush to one side, revealing the figure of a man in a cloak leaning against the tree. Then, almost as quickly as they were blown aside, the leaves were swept back into place once again by the cool night air. When the leaves moved again moments later, the man was gone. It was this man that was the cause of much discussion among the citizens of Dion every day. He was an enigma of sorts. When he first appeared, the streets of Dion were unsafe, riddled with criminals and drunks. Within weeks of his appearance, the amount of crime had decreased drastically. Unfortunately for the people residing in the village, he always managed to disappear before he could be seen or thanked.

After a lucky member of the night watch noticed the figure amongst the trees one evening, he had been talked about often. The figure was brought up in many council meetings, but nobody had more information on the mysterious guardian. Some thought he was a ghost, some even thought he was a god. But none knew who he truly was. The mystery remained, but over time the figure became known as Alexios –Greek for "defender" – and this is his story.

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**Prologue**

_**1280 BC**_

Not too far away from Dion, in a forest just off the coast of the Aegean Sea, a young mother made a mad dash to the sea with the crying form of her newborn son in her arms. Branches whipped at her face and arms, but she ignored them, hell-bent on reaching the sea. Carried along on the wind, one could hear the reason for her sprint to the sea – the shouts of her pursuers. The woman's lungs were burning and her feet were aching from the constant running, and she was almost ready to collapse. The shouts of the men following her became increasingly more noticable, and instead of being carried by the wind, they were now slicing through the wind, coming closer and closer. After a couple more minutes of running, the young woman finally broke through the edge of the trees and came upon the coast of the Aegean Sea. She almost shouted in relief, but thought better of it, for she did not want to alert her pursuers of her presence. She stumbled her way towards the shoreline, still with her son in her arms, and fell to her knees at the water's edge. _Please, _she prayed, _keep our son safe. _She then placed her baby gently in the water just as the men chasing her broke free of the tree line, and the leader hurled a spear through her back, narrowly missing her sons head. As she closed her eyes for the last time, she saw the outline of her lover disappear under the water's surface, with her baby wrapped protectively in his arms. "Goodbye...Perseus," she whispered as the life faded from her body, and her eyes slid shut.

The man who killed her looked down at her broken form with pity in his eyes. He could sense the boy – his true target – disappearing into the sea, but he couldn't care less. He had no wish to kill either of them, and he gained no pleasure from doing so. After all, his domain was not murder, it was war. Death in war was honorable, especially when you are fighting for something that you believe in. Murder was just cold-blooded killing, and there was nothing honorable in that. He was sick and tired of being his father's personal assassin, and he would not put up with it any longer. He would simply tell his father that they were both dead, and suffer the consequences at a later date. Turning to the mortal mercenaries behind him, he snapped his fingers and quickly manipulated the mist, removing tonight's hunt from their minds. With that done, Ares turned and revealed his divine form, flashing back to his palace upon Mount Olympus. Only later did he remember that revealing his divine form disintegrates all mortals looking at him at the time, so using the mist to wipe their memories was a real waste of time. Oops.

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**POSEIDON POV**

As I swam back to Atlantis, I took the time to study my son. He had a single tuft of black hair on his head, and his eyes were just like mine-as green as the sea. Just looking at him, I felt a need to protect him from all harm – starting with having a little chat with that stupid war god. But that would have to wait. For now, I just want to get home and rest up for what is to come. He is my first ever demigod, and he will be very powerful when he grows up, so he will require a lot of training to reign in that power. After all, the sea does not like to be restrained.

When I reached Atlantis, I entered the throne room to find Amphitrite waiting for me. When she saw me, her face broke out into a smile. That smile dropped off of her face pretty quickly though at the sight of Perseus in my arms. "What is _that?_" she hissed at me. "His name is Perseus," I said. "He is my son." Tears started to fall from her eyes as I said this. "You cheated." It was more of a statement than a question, so I simply nodded in reply. At this, her silent tears turned into heartbreaking sobs and she turned away from me. I gently set Perseus down on my throne, before quickly rushing over to her and gathering her shaking body in my arms. At first she protested, but eventually she gave in and leaned into me. I held her until she stopped crying, whispering soothing words and promises to her – one of which was a promise to never cheat again. "Get it out," she demanded without looking at me. "Please my queen, at least hold him before you decide to get rid of him," I said quietly. I handed Perseus to her, half expecting for her to kill him right then and there, but before she could do anything Perseus opened his eyes and her glare softened. She held out her hand to him, and he grabbed onto her index finger. In that moment, I knew she was hooked. "What's his name?" she asked in a voice barely above a whisper. "His name is Perseus," I replied. "_Perseus_" she repeated, gazing down at him with a look she used to only hold for me – a look of unending love. I knew then that my – no _our _– son had a new family, one that wouldn't give him up for anything.

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**A/N - Let me know what you guys thought about this by leaving a review. They really help motivate me to continue writing. Thanks!**

**-runwild14**


	2. Capture

**Disclaimer - I don't own PJO and I never will**

***THIS HAS BEEN EDITED***

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**-Last Time on The Ancient Warrior**-

_I knew then that my-no _our_-son had a new family, one that wouldn't give him up for anything._

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_**Now…**_

_**Time Skip 5 Years**_

**THIRD PERSON POV**

The kingdom of Atlantis was bustling with activity as it prepared for the festivities that would be taking place later in the day. It was the fifth birthday of Prince Perseus, and in underwater life, five years is a long time. In the past five years, a drastic change had taken place within Atlantis. The streets were always loud now, brimming with an air of happiness not seen since the birth of Triton. The royal family had also grown a lot closer together with Perseus being a welcome addition. Even Triton, the normally stuck-up and cold prince, had accepted Perseus. He treated him as a younger brother, and it was clear to all that the bond they shared was unbreakable.

As the palace servants were preparing for the party, Perseus and Triton were sparring in the arena located in the back of the palace. "Keep your guard up, Percy!" Triton yelled as he landed a blow on his younger brother's armor. Percy immediately adjusted his guard and responded with a quick thrust of his own, catching the older son of Poseidon unawares and forcing him to jump back to avoid being skewered. Pressing his advantage, Percy followed up the thrust with a sweeping blow to the side. Triton barely got his shield up in time, and the sword just nicked the top of the shield before continuing its slightly adjusted path towards him. He continued to move backwards, evading the blow and the follow-up, but he was running out of room. Suddenly, as Percy's sword was in mid-swing, Triton leapt forward, out of the path of his younger brother's strike, and bashed his shield into Percy's chest. Percy stumbled back before his heel caught in the dirt and he went down. Quick as a flash, Triton was upon him, kicking away Percy's sword and leveling his own at his neck. "Yield?" asked Triton with a satisfied grin. Percy gave a defeated sigh before replying' "I yield." Triton sheathed his sword before sticking out his hand to help his brother to his feet. Percy took it and after he was hauled to his feet said, "Rematch?"

Triton shook his head with a laugh before saying, "Nope, we gotta get you ready for your big day." Percy gave a fake pout and whined, "Why do I have to go? All I ever do is stand there and smile awkwardly at old people." His brother chuckled before saying, "You have to be there because it's all about _you_, Percy. Now let's get going." With a greatly exaggerated sigh, Percy followed his older brother out the doors of the arena and into the palace. After a couple minutes of walking through hallways, the boys finally reached their rooms. Triton paused at his door to remind Percy that the party started in 15 minutes, before he walked into his room and shut the door behind him.

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**PERCY POV**

When I went into my room to get changed, I saw my outfit for the day already lying on my bed. I took a quick shower before changing into the black dress pants and sea-green dress shirt. I must have looked pretty ridiculous considering I was only just five years old. When I finished getting dressed I started to head down the hallways to the throne room. As I was walking, I looked out one of the windows and saw a dark shape making its way through the water. Now, usually if I saw something in the water I wouldn't think much of it, but there was something about this creature that screamed 'don't trust me'. One side of me was screaming to follow it, but the other side was reminding me I now had about five minutes before the party started. Following the more impulsive side of my brain, I swam after the creature as it began to move towards the surface. I had never been allowed up on the surface because my parents claimed it was too dangerous, so I was already really curious. Add to that the fact that a giant sea creature was swimming towards it, and almost nothing could stop me from seeing it.

As we neared the surface, the water started to get lighter and lighter. Finally, the creature's head broke through the surface of the water and it started to swim for the shore. I followed, not far behind, and watched in astonishment as a pair of wings unfolded from its back and the creature flew towards the clouds. After watching it go for some time, I turned my attention back to the land. It was a beautiful shoreline, with white, sandy beaches and tall green trees lining the edge. I felt an indescribable pull towards the island, and being the curious boy I am, I decided to explore some. All thoughts of my party were washed from my mind as soon as I steeped foot on the surface. The sand felt so smooth on my feet and the breeze coming from the ocean was so relaxing that I just wanted to stay there forever. I was so caught up in my sightseeing that I didn't notice the group of men around me until it was too late. Hands closed around my mouth from behind, cutting off all chances of shouting for help. I started to struggle, but there was nothing I could do about it. "Well, well, well," a voice said from behind me, "What do we have here?"

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**POSEIDON POV**

I stood in the throne room with my wife and son Triton, waiting on Percy to join us. The party started five minutes ago, and. I was starting to get a little worried. I turned to my son and saw that he mirrored my worried look. "Triton," I said. He turned to look at me and I continued. "Can you go fetch your brother?" He gave me a quick nod before running off to get Percy. I watched as the partygoers danced and dined, and I noticed many of them were stealing glances at Percy's empty throne. I knew if he didn't show up soon I would have to tell the people something to calm them.

Suddenly, Triton ran in through the doors nearest to me. By now, it had been 30 minutes since the party started, and I was in serious need of some good news. When he reached me, I started to feel the cold tendrils of fear creep their way through my body at the look on his face. "He's gone," he said in a worried tone. "I can't find him anywhere." Immediately, I sent a telepathic message to Delphin, the commander of my sea-creature forces. He appeared soon at my side, and I quickly informed him of the situation and instructed him to send out his best scouts and search parties.

Just after he left, I felt as if something had been taken from me. It took me a while to recognize the feeling, but when I did. All the color drained from my face. A presence had just left the sea. And not just any presence. It was Percy's.

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**PERCY POV**

I was roughly turned around, and when I was I came face to face with the scariest person I had ever seen. He was huge – at least 6'5" – and everything he wore was black. Even in the dire situation I was in, I had to stop myself from laughing at him. I mean seriously bud, all black? Want to throw in a bit of color maybe? He had scars all over his face and to complete the look he had an eyepatch over his left eye – or I guess where his left eye used to be. As I was studying him, he was checking me over too. Once his assessment was finished, he gave a signal and I was immediately tied up and gagged, before being dragged over to a couple of horses. The men all mounted, but not before the first one threw me up onto the back of his horse. Before they set off, the man riding with me struck me on the head, and I fell into unconsciousness. Just before my eyes closed, a thought struck me. _Why hadn't I just tried using the water against him?_

When I woke up, I found I was in a cage of sorts. As I looked around, I saw that there were many other boys like me, all roughly the same age. I looked over at the boy next to me – he was maybe six or seven – and asked, "Where are we?" He looked at me, pity and sorrow in his gaze, and replied, "We are in the possession of Ethan Nakamura. One of the most well-known slave traders in Greece."

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**A/N - Let me know what you guys thought about this by leaving a review. They really help motivate me to continue writing. Thanks!**

**-runwild14**


	3. Slavery

**Disclaimer - I don't own PJO and I never will**

***THIS HAS BEEN EDITED***

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**-Last Time on The Ancient Warrior-**

_When I woke up, I found I was in a cage of sorts. As I looked around, I saw that there were many other boys like me, all roughly the same age. I looked over at the boy next to me – he was maybe six or seven – and asked, "Where are we?" He looked at me, pity and sorrow in his gaze, and replied, "We are in the possession of Ethan Nakamura. One of the most well-known slave traders in Greece."_

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_**Now…**_

**PERCY POV**

I looked at the boy in shock, my five-year-old brain not quite processing what he had just told me. My mouth was opening and closing like a fish as I was trying to form some semblance of a complete thought. "I-slave-what?" I'm sure had the situation not been so serious the boy would have laughed at my response. Instead, he simply nodded and turned back to the solitude of his cell. As I finally grasped what he said, my mind could form only one thought. _Oh, fuck. I really should've stayed home._

Half an hour later we were all loaded into a wagon and driven off somewhere. There was talk of a marketplace – little did we know it was no normal market. When we arrived at the place ten burly men came to the back of the wagon and dragged us all off. They herded us forward until we all stood next to a large wooden platform. After standing there for about five minutes, many of us were becoming restless and angry. Suddenly, a loud voice boomed across the square. "Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Megarian Slave Market!" This statement was followed by rambunctious clapping, ringing loudly throughout the square. After the people of Megarian had calmed down, the voice continued. "Let's get started. Bring them up!"

As we ascended the stairs to the stage, we were met with cheers and jeers, along with rotten fruits being thrown our way. These people must be sick. How can you possibly support selling children as slaves? When we finally reached the center of the stage, the yelling died down to allow the speaker to talk. Now that we were out in the open, we could see everything in the square. It was all a little too much to take in at once, so I began to focus on the minute details and block out everything else. First and foremost, the man announcing everything was probably the heaviest man I had seen in my entire life, and he was dressed in some of the finest robes in mortal existence. The stage we were situated on was about forty feet long, and about half as wide, and made from what looked to be birch wood. The stage was taking up half the space in the square, which was surrounded on all sides by different kinds of buildings, from houses to shops. Even as I was about to be sold into slavery, I couldn't help but admire the architecture of the buildings. Some of the finest architects in Greece must have been hired to design this city, because it was almost as beautiful as Atlantis.

When we were all situated at the center of the stage I finally got a good look at my fellow to-be-slaves. There were about fifteen of us, and I was the youngest one there. Everybody else looked to be between the ages of seven and ten. After I was done taking in my surroundings, I turned my attention back to the fat man with the loud voice – he must be one of Ethan Nakamura's goons. "Alright folks, settle down, settle down. Now, as you can see, in front of each of these pieces of vermin are letters. The letter represents their lot number." – I was on lot G – "Now without further ado, let's begin the bidding!"

A voice from the back of the crowd shouted out, "Two drachmas on lot C!" This was followed by a shouts of, "Three drachmas on lot C!" and, "Four drachmas on lot C!" When nobody else placed a bid, the big guy decided to step in. "Four drachmas going once…four drachmas going twice…SOLD to the man in the black hat." The person on lot C, a child of about ten, stepped down to stand beside his new lord, who promptly turned around and left. The child rushed to catch up with him, not wanting to upset his lord on the first day.

Turning my attention back to the big guy, I found that he had already begun the bidding on another lot. With a start, I realized that it was _my _lot. By the time I had completely refocused on the bidding, it was ending. "…three drachmas going twice…SOLD to the man in the gray coat." The next couple minutes were a bit of a blur. I remember being led off the stage and over to the man – Gabriel was his name, as I learned later – and following him to his wagon. After that, I assume we made our way to his house, because the next thing I remember is being shown the slave quarters. After I had been introduced, Lord Gabriel left, but not before leaving these parting words: _Welcome to Hell on Earth._

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_**Time Skip One Year**_

**THIRD PERSON POV**

Shouting could be heard from Lord Gabriel's mansion yet again. "Hurry up, you no good piece of shit!" There had always been shouting coming from that area, but the amount of yelling had increased drastically over the past year. The people of the village of Amnissos stopped once more in their daily routines to pity the poor soul that was subject to the verbal abuse spewing from the mouth of Lord Gabriel, before continuing on in their days, albeit a little more rushed. Inside of the mansion from which the yelling originated, a young boy who looked to be about six years old was receiving his fifth beating of the week from his master. Lord Gabriel was drunk as per usual and was taking his anger out on his favorite target. "I fucking told you to hurry up, you stupid slave!" In between each word was a blow to the young boy in front of him. The boy was currently cowering in the corner of the room as Lord Gabriel beat him. Only one thought crossed his mind as he held up his hands to ward off the punches raining down upon him. _This really is Hell on Earth._

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_**Time Skip One Year**_

**THIRD PERSON POV**

The young boy was once again cowering in a corner of the house, although this time Lord Gabriel was not with him. The boy looked to be about seven now, and it was obvious that he had been subject to severe abuse at the hands of his master. His thin frame was riddled with various scars and bruises, and his skin clung to his bones from malnourishment. It was clear that his life at the hands of Lord Gabriel was literally killing him. Suddenly, the door on the other side of the room swung open, and the boy immediately put his hands up to lessen the pain of the abuse he would soon be subjected to. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not here to hurt you," a timid voice called out to him. That voice didn't belong to Lord Gabriel, that's for sure. His was a lot rougher and harsher. Removing his hands from his face, the boy studied the person who spoke. He looked to be about the same age as the boy, although slightly taller. "My name is Grover," the boy said, holding out his hand to shake. When it became clear to him that the boy was not going to shake, Grover withdrew his hand and continued. "I'm a cook in Lord Gabriel's kitchen. You look hungry. Would you like something to eat?" The boy looked at him for another couple seconds, simply trying to process the words that had been thrown at him in that short amount of time, before he gave a tentative nod and allowed himself to be led towards the kitchen.

When they reached the kitchen, Grover turned back to the boy and told him to wait, before strolling into the kitchen and coming back moments later with a loaf of bread. He offered the bread to the boy and sat down with him to eat. "What's your name?" Grover asked, realizing that they had known each other for a whopping _five minutes_ and he didn't even know the boy's name. "Percy," the boy replied shortly, before turning back to his bread and continuing to devour it. Grover watched him eat for a little while before deciding that just being acquaintances with this boy was not enough – he needed some sort of ally in this living hell. Having made up his mind, Grover opened his mouth to speak again, when suddenly the door opposite to them was practically ripped off of its hinges, revealing the figure of Lord Gabriel. When his eyes came to rest on the scene in front of him, his face turned purple with rage. Pointing to Grover he spoke. "You. Back to the kitchen." After Grover had scampered off, he turned to Percy. "You. We need to have a little _talk_."

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_**Time Skip Three Years**_

**THIRD PERSON POV**

Percy and Grover had become fast friends, putting the kitchen incident behind them. They were both ten years old now, and both had suffered abuse at the hands of Lord Gabriel, although Percy's was much more severe. Unlike the scared, malnourished seven-year-old though, ten-year-old Percy was well fed, thanks to his secret kitchen trips with Grover. Percy had become Lord Gabriel's personal slave, bringing him everything from liquor to bathrobes. Being Gabriel's personal slave meant that Percy didn't have to get up as early and didn't have as much manual labor, although that was of little condolence to him. Being his master's personal slave also meant that Percy had to spend all day near him, which allotted more time for beatings. They had settled into a bit of a routine-a routine that Percy absolutely hated. Gabriel would wake up at around noon, so instead of breakfast, Percy would have to have a lunch prepared for his master. If the lunch was not good enough, a beating would occur. After lunch, Gabriel would usually visit his favorite bar, bringing Percy along with him. At the bar, Gabriel would get very drunk playing bar games, and when they returned home, he would often beat Percy again. Later on, he would have dinner, and it would be the same rules as lunch. And no matter what Percy did, the meals he prepared were never good enough for Gabriel. He would then retire to his chambers for the night, and Percy would go back to the slave's quarters, nursing his new wounds. Percy would be lucky to escape the day with one beating, and he usually picked up all three. The same thing happened day after day for the next five years – until the one day when it didn't.

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**A/N - Let me know what you guys thought about this by leaving a review. They really help motivate me to continue writing. Thanks!**

**-runwild14**


	4. Chapter 4 - Editing Complete

**I have finished the editing for the story so far, but as I publish new chapters I will be going back through and editing again. Hopefully, I should start writing more chapters in about a month - I have to edit my other stories first.**

**Thanks for your patience guys**

**-runwild14**


	5. Stress

Alright I know you guys want an update - trust me, I've gotten enough reviews and PMs to know - but I need to get this off my chest. I have been so incredibly freaking stressed out lately. And I'm trying to push through and update, I really am, but I have to go through and edit each and every single one of my stories first. And trust me, not only is it not fun at all, but it also takes an incredibly long time to do. I want to put out an update as much as you want to see an update - cause I really want to get back to writing completely, but I'm not superhuman - **I have a life outside of writing****_._**

I didn't want to bring this up, but some of you haven't been very patient, and while I'm glad to know you like my work, I need time in order to put out something good, especially with all the stress I'm facing. For those of you who don't believe me, let me tell you how my last couple days have been.

For the past couple weeks, I've been preparing for a Socratic seminar in Spanish. For those that don't know what that is, you basically sit in a circle and discuss random stuff. Get this - I hate Spanish. It's the only class where I truly feel like an idiot, and that's not a good feeling. So anyway, I spent those two weeks preparing for it. And then, the day came where I would have to step foot into the fiery pit of hell and sit in a group of six people and discuss social relations in Latin American countries. Doesn't that just sound like an absolute blast? It wasn't. Even after all that studying, it was pretty rough. Really rough. And then instead of going to my next period, I had to go to this stupid IB meeting where they just talked about the same thing for an hour and a half. A complete waste of time. The next couple periods I had a test and I spent the rest of the time stressing over an essay that I had to take after school that I was unable to study for because of the Spanish stuff. I'm pretty sure I failed that essay too. And while I was taking that essay, a teacher that I really love got super pissed at us because some of the people were remediating an EK and they had waited until the deadline to do it, so that forced this teacher to stay after even though he wasn't supposed to, which made him unable to go to his second job. He does all of this to support his equally amazing family, and being on the other end of his anger really wasn't a good feeling. Anyway that kinda screwed me up for the rest of the day. When I got home, I remembered that I had a physics lab due the next day - at 8:04 IN THE MORNING. So I started that at 6:00PM and I worked on it until 3:30 the next morning. And I did a crappy job on it, so I'll be getting a bad grade on that too. So the next day I was functioning on two and a half hours of sleep, so of course I had to have a test first thing. I failed that too. I kind of sleep walked my way through Friday because I had gotten a grand total of eight hour of sleep the previous two nights combined. And then of course today (Saturday) I had a track meet. I got there at 6:30AM. Care to guess what time I left? 10:30. PM. And I had two really awful races, because a lot of how you race depends on how you slept two nights before. So I'm in a crappy mood. And I'm trying to edit stories. So yeah.

I'm sorry that turned into a rant, and thank you to those of you that read the entire thing. Anyway, hopefully you get my point. I was under a ton of stress, and any writing I manage to get done while under that much stress is really bad, so I wasn't going to put you through that. There is some good news. Winter break is finally here. Updates are on their way. I've now finished editing all stories except Moros: Assassin of Chaos. I have three out of nine chapters edited in that one. I'm getting there. Good things come to those who wait. Please be patient. And if you can't wait that long, I have multiple other tories for you to read. Or, you can read other stores on this wonderful site. Trust me. You'll make it.

Thanks to the majority of you who are understanding.

see you soon

-runwild14


	6. IMPORTANT

I've recently entered a contest on the new Radish app. Online voting for the contest just opened up - please check my Twitter for the link to vote (runwild14)

Please go vote for "The Eye" under the Science Fiction category if you have the time.

Plus, if you do this there is a much greater incentive for me to finish these ongoing stories.

thanks a bunch

-runwild14


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